Freeze drying is a just lately developed technique of preserving meals stuffs. It entails the freezing of the meals, then eradicating a lot of the meals moisture inside a vacuum, and lastly sealing the meals in air-tight storage. Freeze dried meals could be transported at regular temperatures, saved for very lengthy durations of time, and be eaten with minimal preparation. As soon as ready to eat, freeze-dried meals look and style the identical as the unique, pure merchandise.Freeze-dried meals was developed throughout World Conflict II as a technique of preserving blood for battlefield accidents, while not having refrigeration or damaging the natural nature of the plasma. The know-how was later utilized to meals merchandise after the tip of the battle. Espresso was one of many first freeze-dried merchandise to be produced on a big scale. Many fruits, greens, meats, eggs, and meals are freeze-dried.Freeze-dried meals has many benefits. As a result of as a lot as 98% of the water content material has been eliminated, the meals is extraordinarily light-weight, which reduces the price of delivery. This additionally makes it in style with anybody that has to hold their meals with them. As a result of it requires no refrigeration, delivery and storage prices are minimal. Freeze-dried meals can be comparatively clear, because the dehydration course of makes it nearly unimaginable for yeast and dangerous micro organism to outlive the method. Lastly, for the reason that bodily construction of the meals will not be altered throughout the freeze-dried course of, the meals retains a lot of its colour and taste when it’s ready by including water. This makes it much more engaging to individuals, than meals preserved by different strategies.One of many main disadvantages of freeze-dried meals is its value. The tools required for this course of is pricey, and the method itself is time consuming and labor intensive. These prices are often handed on to the buyer, which makes freeze-dried meals very costly when in comparison with different strategies of meals preservation resembling canning or freezing.Uncooked MaterialsSome meals are extraordinarily well-suited to the freeze-drying course of. Liquids, skinny parts of meat, and small vegatables and fruits could be freeze dried simply. Espresso is the most typical freeze-dried liquid. Chunks or slices of shrimp, crab, lobster, beef, and hen could be freeze-dried. They’re typically combined with greens as a part of soups or principal course entrees. Virtually all vegatables and fruits could be freeze-dried, together with beans, corn, peas, tomatoes, berries, lemons, oranges, and pineapples. Even objects like olives and water chestnuts could be processed this manner.Thick parts of meat and bigger, complete greens and fruits can’t be freeze dried with any success. With many different meals, it’s merely not economical to protect them by freeze drying.The Manufacturing ProcessA freeze-drying processing facility is often a big plant with fashionable tools. Its food-handling areas have to be authorized by the US Division of Agriculture, and the corporate and its staff should adhere to authorities regulatory procedures. The plant might embody a receiving and storage space for uncooked meals that arrive on the plant in bulk; a meals cooking space for these meals that have to be cooked earlier than processing; a big space with a number of giant freezing and drying chambers; and a packaging space. The ability may additionally embody a analysis space the place improved strategies of freeze-drying meals are developed, and a take a look at kitchen the place new preparation methods to enhance the ultimate style, high quality, and texture of the meals are tried. Some crops are devoted to freeze-drying just one product like freeze-dried espresso. Others course of a variety of meats, greens, and fruits. Nonfood merchandise resembling chemical compounds and prescription drugs are often processed in separate crops from meals merchandise.
The freeze-drying course of varies within the particulars of temperatures, occasions, pressures, and intermediate steps from one meals to a different. The next is a generalized description of the method with a number of particular exceptions famous.Testing and preparation The meals is first checked for contamination and purity. Fruits, meats, and another edibles are examined for bacterial counts and spoilage. A lot of the work of the plant relies on the harvest season for every meals. In January, for instance, the plant can be processing celery, olives, lemons, oranges, and pineapples. In July, it could course of inexperienced beans, peas, and strawberries, amongst others.Some sorts of meals, like seafood and meats, have to be cooked earlier than freeze drying. They’re often bought already reduce into small items. In the event that they haven’t been pre-cooked and frozen, these meals are positioned in giant, industrial-sized kettles and correctly cooked. Vegetables and fruit are often bought already reduce, pitted, and peeled. These meals are merely washed with sprays of water. Some greens, like peas and corn, are shortly scalded, or blanched, earlier than freezing. Espresso is bought as a pre-brewed concentrated liquid. As a result of the aroma of espresso is essential to customers, a small quantity of espresso bean oil could also be added to the liquid. In contrast to the water, the oil will not be eliminated throughout the drying course of.Freezing The meals items are unfold out on flat, metallic trays that are stacked 20 to 30 excessive in slots in a wheeled cart. With meals that has been pre-cooked and frozen, the trays are pre-chilled to forestall partial thawing throughout dealing with. With liquids like espresso, the pre-brewed espresso is poured into shallow pans. The carts are wheeled into a big, walk-in coldroom the place the temperature could be as little as -40F (-40C). On this extraordinarily chilly temperature, the meals is shortly frozen. There are often a dozen or extra coldrooms in operation, and the carts are stored there till it’s time to transfer them into the drying chamber.Drying The carts are wheeled out of the coldroom and right into a vacuum drying chamber. Within the case of liquids like espresso, the frozen espresso is first floor up into small particles in a low-temperature grinder. The drying chamber is a big, lengthy, horizontal cylinder with semi-elliptical ends. One finish is hinged to open and shut. When the trays of frozen meals items are inside, the chamber is closed and sealed. In a big plant, there could also be 20 to 30 drying chambers in operation at any time.The drying process entails a course of often called sublimation. In sublimation, a strong materials is pressured to vary state right into a gaseous materials with out ever turning into a liquid. Within the case of freezedried meals, the strong ice crystals trapped within the frozen meals items are pressured to vary into water vapor with out ever turning into liquid water. Within the drying chamber, that is achieved by evacuating the air with a vacuum pump to cut back the strain to about zero.036 psi (zero.0025 bar). The temperature of the meals is raised to about 100 levels by direct conduction by way of the underside of the trays, radiation from warmth lamps, or microwave heating. When the chamber is evacuated of air, the strain is beneath the edge at which water can concurrently exist in a strong, liquid, and gaseous (vapor) state. This threshold is called the triple level of water. As soon as the strain falls beneath this level, the warmth causes the ice crystals trapped within the frozen items of meals to vary on to water vapor. The vapor is drawn off and condensed inside the chamber leaving the meals behind. The dried meals is stuffed with tiny voids, like a sponge, the place the ice crystals had been as soon as current. Not solely does this make it simpler for the meals to reabsorb water when it’s ready for consumption, however the dried meals retains its authentic measurement and form. The time for this drying course of varies. Freeze-dried liquids make take solely about 4 hours to arrange, whereas semi-solids and solids like soup and sliced meats might take 12 hours or extra.Sizing and mixing The dried meals items are faraway from the drying chamber and examined for moisture content material and purity.Some meals items could also be floor to a smaller measurement or could also be diminished to a powder. Others could also be screened to separate them by measurement. Two or extra totally different merchandise may additionally be blended collectively to satisfy a clients particular specs.Packaging Freeze-dried meals have to be sealed in hermetic containers to forestall them from absorbing moisture from the air. A number of sorts of containers could also be used: plastic laminated foil pouches, metallic and plastic cans, or metallic and fiber drums for bulk packaging. Some freeze-dried meals is vacuum packed, wherein the air is evacuated from the container earlier than sealing. Different meals has an inert gasoline like nitrogen injected into the container earlier than sealing to displace the oxygen within the air and stop oxidation or spoiling of the meals. The packaging is completed within the freeze-dry plant nearly as quickly because the meals come out of the drying chamber. The plant can kind, fill, and seal the packages to the specified weight for the tip consumer. Packages which are to be bought on to the buyer are packed in cartons, stacked on pallets, and transported to the grocery warehouse. Different freeze-dried meals is packaged in bulk and bought to a secondary processor for incorporation into different meals merchandise. Freeze-dried blueberries, for instance, could also be despatched to an organization that makes pancake and muffin mixes.
High quality ControlEach meals has totally different processing, storage, and rehydration necessities. A few of the variables embody the sizing of the uncooked meals merchandise earlier than freezing, the cooking or blanching time and temperature, the speed of freezing and ultimate freezing temperature, the speed of utility of vacuum and the ultimate vacuum strain throughout drying, the speed and technique of utility of warmth and the ultimate dried product temperature, the allowable residual moisture content material after drying, the storage temperature and environment (vacuum, nitrogen, and many others) after drying, and the rehydration procedures. At giant freeze-drying services, digital microprocessors regulate the occasions, temperatures, and pressures all through every step of the method. A central pc collects this knowledge, analyzes it utilizing statistical high quality management strategies, and shops it for later reference. This assures that the meals despatched out to the general public for consumption has been by way of a strictly managed course of that meets authorities pointers and varies solely barely from batch to batch. The pc additionally collects knowledge on the bacterial and moisture ranges of the uncooked, bulk meals merchandise coming into the plant in addition to the ultimate freezedried merchandise. Particular tools might embody computerized gasoline chromatographs and oxygen analyzers. Even the packaging supplies are examined for his or her skill to forestall water vapor and oxygen transmission.The FutureFood will not be the one materials that’s freeze-dried. Pharmaceutical merchandise resembling antibiotics and vaccines are sometimes preserved this manner. Specialty chemical compounds, pigments, and ceramics powders are additionally produced utilizing freeze-drying. Presently, there’s growth work on freeze-drying varied aerosol sprays. One of the vital attention-grabbing purposes is freeze-drying flowers to provide bouquets that may be saved for a lot of months earlier than being reactivated to make recent flowers. This could be particularly useful for individuals who need flowers that bloom solely throughout a brief season.
